Dental Health Theme for Preschool

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February is dental health month. It can seem like a difficult concept to talk about, but there is a lot you can do to teach kids how to care for teeth. Studying dental health is a great kids activity for your preschool program.

There are several concepts that kids need to understand about their teeth for good dental health. In my town, I can call the health department and they will send a hygienist out to talk with the kids about brushing and oral hygiene. It’s lots of fun. She brings puppets and videos for the kids to enjoy. My favorite is her horse puppet with the giant teeth. It’s so cute.

Brushing their teeth regularly, eating healthy food, and visiting a dentist for checkups are three important things kids need to learn for good dental health. There are many great books to read with kids that help teach these concepts for your dental health theme for preschool. 

Dental activities for preschoolers

I have a set of big teeth that was a gift from a very thoughtful daycare family who knew I had always wanted them. They are great to show the kids all the surfaces of the teeth and how to reach them all with different brush strokes. Also, they are wonderful for kids to practice dental health practices. They LOVE doing this and it makes them think about how to brush their own teeth.

If you don’t have a set of big teeth, you can hard boil some eggs (providing you don’t have egg allergies to worry about) and let the kids brush the eggs with a toothbrush. The surface of eggs and teeth are very similar. 

Tooth brushing activities for preschoolers

Colgate has an awesome teeth unit for preschool to give teachers toothbrushes. I love to order every year and it’s completely free! The kit always has a game and a video to help stretch your lesson plans. They give out a limited number of kits, so if you miss the deadline, there are still a bunch of cool printables to use.

I noticed this year they are narrowing down who can qualify, so I wasn’t able to get any, but the online program is still accessible to get teeth unit activities for the kids to do. 

Junk food is bad for our teeth. It’s never too early to teach kids that even though candy and soda taste good, it’s better to use moderation when consuming them so their teeth will last a lifetime. This is an important part of our dental health unit in preschool. Cut pictures from magazines of all kinds of foods. Cake, cookies, milk, sandwiches, any pictures you can find. You need a variety of junk food and healthy food.

Kids also need to learn what kinds of food build and strengthen their teeth for a long life of healthy teeth. Letting them use pictures of milk, cheese, and other tooth-building foods is a great way to demonstrate what is good for their dental health future.

There are several things you can have kids do with dental health unit cutouts. Here are two that I do: Cut a big tooth out of white poster board (to signify a healthy tooth) and one out of black poster board (to signify a rotten tooth). Let the kids tell you if the food in the picture is good for their teeth or bad and then glue it to the corresponding tooth.

Another healthy teeth activity is to give each child a paper plate. Tell them to choose good food choices to glue to their plates. It’s okay if they chose a few sweets. That’s a good way to talk to them about limiting junk and brushing after a sugary snack. If your kids are older, you can give them the magazines and let them find the pictures themselves.

Preschool lesson plan on dental health

You can explain to your kids that eggshells are made of calcium similar to their bones and that teeth are bones. Place a raw egg in a glass of vinegar and observe what happens to it over time.

Vinegar is like the acids that are in sugary foods and how they break down the enamel on their teeth just like the vinegar softens the eggshell. It’s a great science lesson too. This activity can actually be done with a chicken bone as well. The vinegar will soften the bone in the same way. This dental health activity is a great addition to the preschool lesson plan on dental health.

In another glass, you can put another white egg. Fill the glass with soda and observe what the soda does to the egg over time. Explain to the kids how soda does the same thing to their teeth. You could even try to brush the soda stains off the egg and see what happens. Click here to see how to get kids to eat healthily.

Lessons that kids can see and feel are great for teaching them a lasting dental health lesson. Kids remember a lot more when they can be hands-on with their activities. These are great activities that can help kids learn how to care for their teeth better.

More themes for teaching kids:

• Summer Theme
• Picasso Lesson Plans
• Dr. Seuss Activities
• Gardening Theme
• Caterpillar and Butterfly Theme
• Valentine’s Day Theme
• Olympic Games Theme
• Butterfly Life Cycle Unit
• Camping Ideas
• Circus Ideas
• Zoo Ideas
• Dinosaur Ideas
• Friendship Ideas
• Daycare Lesson Plans on Shakespeare

And for more special days in daycare, check this out. Here are some great ideas for Home Daycare Curriculum.